Counter



C. P. WETVIORE.

COUNTER.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. 30, 1916.

1,336, 1 13, Patented Apr. 6, 1920.

5M @ffy/m @WMM AT TFNYE -as for registering the amount of material UNITED STATES PATENT oEEicE.

CHARLES J?. WETMORE, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO 'DURANT MANUFAC- TUBING- COIVIPANY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF VISCONSIN.

COUNTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 6, 1920.

Application filed October 30, 1916. Serial No. 128,370.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known 'that I, CHARLES P. VVETMORE, a citizen of the United States, and resident -of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee ings, which are a part of this specification.

The invention relates to counters. The invention is designed more particularly to provide, in combination with a' counter, a mechanism for printing the recorded count when desired.

Counters are used for various purposes stored, transported or dispensed. For instance counters are used in grain elevators where a count is made of every hundred bushels of grain taken into the elevator. Up to the present time the only record of the amount of grain taken in has been made by a reading of the counter by the checker, but it frequently happens that his readings are incorrect, and he is generally not a skilled man so that where commodities are measured in such big quantities a careless reading will result in large losses. Consequently this invention has been designed to guard against human error in reading the counter vby providing a simple and efficient printing mechanism for recording the exact amount when desired. By this means the checker does not have to depend upon his'own reading but the reading is taken down on a card and this card is afterward filed as an exact record of the transaction.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the device, parts being broken away and parts being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

The counting mechanism or counter consists of a casing 4 adapted to be secured to any suitablesupport (not shown) by means of flanges 4 and provided with a removable .cover 5 and a counter shaft 3 upon which the counting disks'?, S and 9 are mounted,

and means for driving the counter shaft 3. The counter shaft carrying the disks 7, 8 and 9 is journaled in the casing 4 and the disks are so connected to the shaft that they may be reset if desired, but as the kind of resetting means employed forms no part of the present invention it has not been shown. lVhile three counting disks have been shown it will be understood that the printing mechanisni may be employed in connection with any number of counting disks.

The means for driving the counter shaft 3 may be of any suitable kind and in the present instance consists of a drive shaft 10 journaled in the casing 4 and carr ing a gear member 11 provided with a eneva tooth 12 which meshes with a ratchet wheel 13 on the counter shaft 3. ny suitable means may be employed for reciprocating the shaft 10. Cn the reciprocation of said shaft the tooth 12 engages the ratchet 3 to move the shaft 3 and consequently the disk 7 for a single count. ln connection with this driving mechanism means are provided for restraining the movement of the counter shaft 3 after it has been moved to effect one count. This means consists of a pawl 14 pivotally mounted on a pin 15 secured to the casing 4. rlhe front end 16 of this pawl has an inclined face 17 adapted to move be tween the ratchet teeth 18 on the ratchet 13 and to Contact with the inclined face 19 of each tooth to limit the backward movement of the ratchet wheel to prevent back movement thereof to the position previously occupied thereby. ln the present instance this pawl is positively operated for each count by a pin 20 secured to the member ll and adapted to contact with cam surfaces 21 and 22 formed near the rear end of the pawl.

A more detailed description of this driving mechanism and its mode of operation will be found in Letters Patent No. 1,261,081, for drive for counters, issued to me, April 2, 1918.

The driving mechanism just described on a single ieciprocation of the shaft 1() causes the shaft 3 to be moved to move the disk T for a single count. As is usual in counters the disk 7 is divided up into ten equal divisions so that one revolution of the shaft 3 and the disk 7 will register ten counts. After the disk 7 has made a complete revolution the tenth count is recorded as a single count on the disk 8 through a gear drive.

from the disk 7 and the disk 8. In this in- -stance the gear drive consistsof a gear mounted on a shaft 2l journaled in the casing 4 and having a single tooth 25 adapted to mesh with a tooth depression 26 in the disk 7 and a series of teeth QT adapted to nesh with a gea-r 2S carried by the disk S. With this construction on the tenth movement of the disk 7 the tooth Q15 engages in the tooth depression 26 of the disk 7 moving the gear Q3 and the shaft 24C through a partial revolution which movement is communicated to the disk 8 through the gearing connection 27 and 2S thus causing the disk S to register a single count. In the same manner after the disk 8 has made a complete levolution registering ten counts the tenth count is recorded on the disk 9 through a gearing connection similar to that between the disks 7 and S.

As previously stated this invention relates to a printing mechanism used in connection with the counter and this consists of a series of raised counting figures 29 on each of the disks 7, 8 and 9 and means for obtaining an impression of any of these figures upon a suitable recording surface or card 30.

The impression means consists of a plunger 3l which is slidably mounted in an aperture 32 in a casing member 33 and means for operating this plunger. The means for operating the plunger consists of a lixed member or handle 3i secured to the casing member 33, a movable lever 35 pivotally mounted on a pin 36 on the casing 323, and a connection between said lever 35 and the plunger 31. This connection consists of a link 3T pivot-ally connected at one end to the lever 36.

With this construction when the lever 55 is drawn toward the lever 3l by the operater the plunger 31 is moved inwardly through the link connection 37 and this movement in the present instance is limited by a stop pin 38 adapted to engage a prejection 39 on the lever The card 30 is passed through alined slots or apertures l0 in the casing member and in this` position is tangentially disposed with respect to the disks and adjacent the raised ligures 29 thereof, between said disks and the face Lll of the plunger 31 so that when the plunger is moved inwardly through the mechanism previously described the card is pressed against the raised figure or figures of the counters and an impression made thereon. In order that the counter may also be read by the operator there is a sight opening y-l-S in the casing provided with the lens 43, The raised counting figures 29 are so positioned with respect to the counting figures 33 on the disk as to have the printed reading correspond with the visible reading of the counter.

The invention thus exemplifies a simple and efficient printing mechanism for counters.

lVhat I claim as my invention is:

l. A counter of the class described, comprising a casing having a record receiving surface passageway, counting means disposed in the casing and operable to successively register counting igures with the passageway, a plunger disposed in the casing adjacent the passageway, a handle rigidly connected with the casing, a movable handle carried by the casing adjacent the rigid handle, and means pivotally connecting the plunger and movable handle, whereby the plunger is moved inwardly toward the counting means when the movable handle is moved toward the rigid handle.

2. A counter of the class described, comprising a casing having a record receiving surface passageway therein, counter disks disposed within the casing tangentially with respect to said passageway and having counting figures thereon adapted to be registered with the passageway, a plunger having a head disposed within the casing adjacent said passageway and'a shank projected outwardly of the casing, a rigid iandle fixed to the casing, a movable handle pivotally secured to the casing adjacent the rigid handle, and means connecting the movable handle with the plunger shank, whereby the plunger head is moved inwardly toward the counter disks when the movable handle is moved toward the rigid handle.

3. A counter of the class described, comprising a casing having alined slits therein to provide a record receiving surface passageway, counter disks revolubly mounted in the casing and tangentially disposed with respect to said passageway, raised counting figures carried by the disks, means for operating thc counter disks to register certain of the counting figures with said passageway, means carried by the casing for visually displaying the fi rures registering with the passageway, a p unger disposed in the casing adjacent said passageway, and means for operating the plunger to make a direct impression of the counting figures in register with the passageway upon a record receiving surface removably positioned in the passageway, said means comprising a handle rigidly connected with the casing, an operating hande pivotally connected with the casing, pivotal link connections between the 'operating handle and the plunger whereby the plunger `is moved inwardly toward the counter disks when the operating handle is moved toward the rigid handle, and a Stop engage-able with the operating handle to limit its movement.

4. In a device of the class described, a counter comprising a casing, a record receiving surface passageway therein, countp pivoted between said spaced apart ears adjacent the rigid handle, and link means pivotally connecting the plunger and movable handle, whereby the plunger is moved inwardly toward the counting means when the movable handleis moved toward the rigid handle. c

In testimony whereof I aiiX my signature.

CHARLES P. WETMORE. 

